Methamphetamine BabiesAddicted Mom on Baby's Withdrawl; It's All My Fault:
Prescription Pill Epidemic Impacts Babies:
Blog
Video links from "The Doctors" re: Newborns Exposed to Drugs And Alcohol in The Womb.
Registered nurse Linda West and fellow Angels in Waiting nurses join The Doctorsto share their experiences fostering abandoned methamphetamine babies. OB/GYN Dr. Lisa Masterson explains how using methamphetamine while pregnant affects a growing fetus.
More than 550,000 babies are born every year after exposure to drugs and alcohol in the womb. These babies are often born premature and with serious health issues, which make them “unpopular” for adoption. Registered nurse Linda West took matters into her own hands and founded the organization Angels in Waiting, a network of neonatal intensive care unit nurses who become foster parents for abandoned babies
How We Can Help
USDTL CordStat® definitively confirms opioid exposure. Many NAS babies are poly-substance exposed in utero. CordStat 12 and 13 drug panels identify the majority of opioids along with many drugs often associated with NAS. Positive results are an objective measure and often times the only flag that baby’s home life may need extra care. Go to www.USDTL.com to learn more.
Q: What is Meconin and why is it important in newborn toxicology?
A: Morphine is the predominant metabolite of heroin, but morphine is also a stand alone drug and a metabolite of codeine. Some mothers are provided morphine during delivery. Historically, there have been instances where heroin using moms could not be distinguished from moms given morphine during delivery. Meconin is a contaminating constituent from poppy that is present in heroin. Therefore, like Monoacetylmorphine - a metabolite of heroin, the presence of Meconin indicates the use of heroin and when found in umbilical cord tissue indicates fetal exposure to heroin.
USDTL screens for Meconin in umbilical cord.
Click here to find out more about our testing services
Why USDTL requires Forensic Specimen Handling
for all but research projects
for all but research projects
As you know, the primary specimen handling issues that differentiate a forensic from a clinical toxicology specimen are:* securing the specimen with a tamper-evident seal
* a documented chain of custody.
A positive test result may do more than affect the newborn’s treatment. Today, a further consequence of a positive newborn toxicology report may involve intervention by the State due to a significant number of jurisdictions requiring reporting of all positive newborn toxicology results. In some instances, these positive results may ultimately lead to termination of parental rights. Therefore, it is very important that all newborn specimens be handled as if they may be litigated. It is this distinct possibility of litigation that is the driving force behind USDTL’s requirement for proper chain-of-custody handling. It is also the reason why CAP-accredited laboratories follow forensic procedures in all areas including newborn toxicology services.
The minimum criteria to ensure the integrity of the chain-of-custody for a specimen is the presence of an intact tamper-evident seal and the signature and date of the collector or the individual that prepared the specimen for send out. A tamper-evident seal is supplied with each USDTL Chain-of-Custoday and Control Form for your convenience. Our concern is in the best interests of our smallest patients.
Prescription Drug Abuse Among Pregnant Women:
08Dec
· WSAZ Huntington, W. Va.
Hospitals and treatment centers are overwhelmed as the medical, social and legal challenges regarding addicted moms and newborns spark problems and progress :http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/WSAZ_INVESTIGATES_Drug_Addicted_Pregnant_Women_Reach_Crisis_Stage_133996608.html
USDTL Forensic Blog
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- Andre Sukta Elected to Board of Directors at SOFT
- Limits of Interpreting A Drug Test
- The Detection of Fentanyl Using Advanced Newborn Drug Testing
- The National and Global Movement of Methamphetamine
- Overdose Surveillance Data: Aimed to Support Public Safety and Public Health
- Kratom and its Controversial Threat to Public Health
- The Prevalence of Benzodiazepines in Today’s Opioid Epidemic
- Winter Weather Delays
- Amy Alexander, SPE Award Recipient 2018
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